flunky

noun

ˈfləŋ-kē How to pronounce flunky (audio)
variants also flunkey or flunkie
Definition of flunkynext
1
as in servant
a person hired to perform household or personal services since I'm just the flunky who files his papers, I've no idea where he is

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sycophant
a person who flatters another in order to get ahead a rock star who saw through the phonies and the flunkies

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of flunky Lou’s father runs the town, sort of like a low-level mobster in a mob that only employs flunkies and toadies with nothing better to do. — Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2024 Brennan’s flunkies created a fake online profile to access the network used by the Senate Intelligence Committee, whose Democratic members were at the time investigating the CIA’s torture program. — Becket Adams, National Review, 9 July 2023 In episode 5, Manfredi viciously killed a mob flunky, Nico, who Tina said had molested her while her father was serving a 25-year prison sentence. — Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 20 Dec. 2022 And Julia’s cousin, the feckless Lord Cassidy (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), is amusing as a flunky for Julia’s demands. — Natalia Winkelman, BostonGlobe.com, 29 June 2022 See All Example Sentences for flunky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flunky
  1. servant
  2. sycophant
  3. lackey
  4. lickspittle
  5. assistant
  6. suck-up
  7. toady
  8. fan
Noun
  • While public money was spent on converting former servants quarters into a family home, the interior decor was paid for privately.
    — Mark Davis, Newsweek, 16 Mar. 2025
  • There, a plaque remembers Anne Glover, an Irish servant who was falsely accused of witchcraft and executed.
    — Michele Herrmann, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025
Definition of servant
Noun
  • What may be worse is that a gaggle of sycophants and groupthink team members underneath the Dark Empath—the direct reports—create a ruthless echo chamber for the king or queen at the top of Mt. Stupid.
    — Dan Pontefract, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
  • Of course, Veep’s sycophants, buffoons, and backstabbers bear little resemblance to the vanguard of our latest regime.
    — Judy Berman, TIME, 20 Feb. 2025
Definition of sycophant
Noun
  • The Liberals have been able to stop their opponent Pierre Poilievre’s momentum by painting him as a MAGA lackey.
    — Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2025
  • One of Knuckles’ many lackeys ultimately finds Rose by … going to her apartment building, where her name is prominently displayed on her mailbox?
    — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 6 Feb. 2025
Definition of lackey
Noun
  • Republican lickspittles like Lindsey Graham and Jim Banks praised Trump and trashed Zelenskyy while Russian leaders rejoiced.
    — Maureen Dowd, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2025
  • Of course, being a junior senator and attaching your name to legislation that has little chance of being enacted—none of those have bills passed—is very different from being Vice-President and chief lickspittle to Trump.
    — John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 22 July 2024
Definition of lickspittle
Noun
  • On Thursday, Way’s lawyer, Rickey Ivie, said his client never agreed to hire Jane Doe as an assistant.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 13 Mar. 2025
  • The 10 individuals initially arrested in September 2017, which included four college assistant coaches, were all relative bit players in the ecosystem.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 13 Mar. 2025
Definition of assistant
Noun
  • But the joke’s on us — Republican senators, who are the only players with any real power to stop them, have simply decided not to, all so that President Camacho can play at government with his favorite suck-ups.
    — S.E. Cupp, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2025
  • Sara Fischer, Dave Lawler Dec 23, 2024 - Politics & Policy Media's suck-up moment Fearing political retribution and strained by new business challenges, media companies that once covered President-elect Trump with skepticism — and in many cases, disdain — are reconsidering their approach.
    — Sara Fischer, Axios, 14 Jan. 2025
Definition of suck-up
Noun
  • This won’t end well, especially in a no-guardrails administration staffed by a how-high team of enablers and toadies.
    — Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2025
  • But a moment later, after he’s swatted down one of the two new toadies at Beck’s kitchen table for making a lewd remark about Annette, his senses seem newly awakened.
    — Chris Klimek, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2025
Definition of toady
Noun
  • The actor is a longtime fan of the French soccer team.
    — Hannah Malach, WWD, 10 Mar. 2025
  • Yet for the legions of O’Neill fans eagerly waiting for the journalist to expand on the theories introduced in his book, the film probably won’t be satisfying.
    — Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2025
Definition of fan

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Cite this Entry

“Flunky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flunky. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

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